SARNIA – The truck driver who attacked his wife in their transport truck and burned her to death on Hwy. 402 nearly two years ago has been found guilty of first-degree murder.

Jurors in the trial of Brampton trucker Sukhchain Singh Brar, 52, returned the verdict just after noon Friday – not quite 24 hours after they began deliberating following weeks of evidence in the death of 37-year-old Gurpreet Brar.

The husband has admitted to striking her with a hammer inside the cab of their truck in the early hours of Jan. 31, 2016. He then set the truck on fire on the 402 – hoping the fire would cover up his crime and allow him to keep raising their children.

During the trial, he testified his wife told him in the truck that he wasn’t the father of one of their children – a comment that sent him into a rage. He had always admitted to the attack, and before the trial tried to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The crown rejected that plea and moved ahead with the first-degree murder trial. Jurors clearly felt the evidence supported that charge.

In closing arguments, assistant Crown attorney Melanie Nancekievill had told jurors: “He continues to lie to you about what happened in the truck.”

The sentence will be handed down after victim impact statements are read into the court on Dec. 17 and 18.